Produced in 1920 in Germany by Decla-Bioscop, released in the U.S. in 1921 by Goldwyn, black and white 35mm negative, tinted 35mm print in1.33:1 Academy screen ratio, silent, 71 mins., Laserdiscs released in 1991 and 1996, DVD released 1998.
produced by Erich Pommer of Decla, the German film company that was taken over in 1923 by UFA making Pommer one of "the most powerful movie producers in the world"
example of German Expressionism: extreme stylization of mis-en-scene, gothic, low-life subject matter, world of angst and paranoia, nonrational and anti-bourgeois
directed by Robert Wiene, sets designed by Hermann Warm, Walter Reimann, Walter Rohrig
origins of the film's design from arts, literature, drama - subjective, distorted, non-realistic paintings of Norwegian Edvard Munch
World War I was a "key turning point" - horror of war, defeated nation, new unity of artists in the Weimar Republic
Pommer was"one of the first to attempt to portray a purely subject world on screen."
world seen through the eyes of a medium: distorted, emotional
"used distortion to bring to life the soul of a defeated nation"
vertical and horizontal lines disturb normal space
Francis wears heavy makeup in the asylum, under the spell of a mad doctor
emphasis on contrast, costumes of actors vs. sets, especially the contrast of graphic elements such as makeup and gestures
world of discontinuity rather than Hollywood space of visual continuity
influenced the 1920 horror film The Golem
influenced F. W. Murneau and his 1922 Dracula film Nosferatu
influenced set design by Hermann Warm of the 1927 film The Passion of Joan of Arc for director Carl Dreyer
influenced John Toland who would film Citizen Kane
German Expressionism ended by the depression and Hitler
